Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
C ody moaned and tried to move, but he had fallen asleep in a weird position. He wanted to rub the crusties from his eyes, but he couldn’t get his arm out from under him. Was he lying on his arm?
“Cody?”
He tried to respond, but his mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton. Who was talking to him? Had he fallen asleep in class?
“Oh, now he wakes up?”
That voice he knew right away, and a twinge of anxiety amped up within him. Why the hell had he fallen asleep in front of Lucia? With great effort, Cody forced his eyes open. Second question of the day: Why the hell was he lying on a concrete floor?
It all came back in a rush. Anxiety and confusion morphed into a sickening spike of terror. He lifted his head and looked around. “Where…?”
“Hey, Sleeping Beauty,” Lucia said. “Welcome back. So glad you got a nap in during the day when you should have been trying to escape.”
Cody dropped his head to the floor, wincing at the impact. “Fuck off. I know where we are.”
“What?” That was a new voice, and Cody lifted his head to peer past Lucia. Oh, right. Tracey Mumm had been brought to the party as well. Fantastic. He put his head down, more gently this time, as Tracey continued. “Where? How?”
“The chairs,” Cody said. “I recognize them.” He looked at Lucia. “We’re in the DPW basement.”
She frowned. “Department of Public Works? There’s a basement?”
“Yeah. I’ve seen John The Bastard coming and going from here. He keeps it locked. It’s a deadbolt with a key.” Cody looked over at Zenona. “Did you see anyone come down when you were here alone? Besides the vampires?”
She shook her head. “No one, but I was blindfolded for about a day.”
“Who the hell is John The Bastard?” Tracey asked.
“Sorry. That’s how Demmy and I talk about him. John Burnwell. The DPW Director.”
Lucia snorted. “That crabby fuck? You think he’s the one who’s been helping the vampires?”
“Yep.” Cody struggled a bit, trying to find a more comfortable position on the hard floor. “These chairs match the ones around the break table upstairs. I’d bet everything I have on it.”
“What the actual fuck?” Tracey said. She started grunting and swearing even more, and Cody figured she was trying to get loose.
“Don’t fall over,” Cody warned. “You won’t like it, trust me.”
“Cody Bower saying ‘trust me’,” Lucia said. “If that isn’t a stereotype.”
“Yeah, okay. Good to see being held captive hasn’t dulled your spark.” He tried to find a more comfortable position, but gave up. Being bound to a chair that had tipped over and was lying on its side on a concrete floor didn’t leave a lot of room for comfort. He looked around at the glass block windows, disheartened to see the dim light of evening. “Whole day, huh?”
“Pretty much,” Lucia said. “How did you manage to handle all those other monsters?”
Cody amused himself by flipping her off from behind his back, but she couldn’t see his hands.
“He’s had a lot of blood loss,” Zenona said, her voice quiet as she stared at the floor in front of her. “He’s going to be weak. His body will need a lot of rest.”
“Voice of experience?” Tracey said.
“You could say that.”
“Okay, I know why I’m here,” Cody said. “And Zenona was taken to get back at Michael, which, I mean, okay, I get it. But you need to really bump up your standards in the men you choose.”
“Case in point, the six and a half feet of useless meat lying on a concrete floor,” Lucia said.
“Yeah, yeah.” Cody flipped her off again. “My question is, why are Lucia and Tracey here?”
There was a pause, and Cody shifted to look at Zenona. She was looking past him at Lucia. “What? What the hell is going on?”
A sound across the basement stopped him cold. It was quiet, which made it even worse than if it had been loud and shocking—just the soft sound of something shifting. As if something that had been dead asleep inside a wooden box was beginning to wake.
Cody looked at the one unblocked window again, cursing at the deep orange glow.
“We’re out of time,” Tracey whispered. “They’re waking up.”
“Demmy will find us,” Cody said, his voice quiet as well. “He won’t stop.”
More sounds from the deep darkness of the far corner. Cody wondered if the caskets were lying on the floor or if they were on sawhorses or tables. How many were there? Was it only Aldrik the Asshole and his father, or were the residents they’d turned sleeping away the day down there as well? And how long had the monsters been right under his and Demmy’s feet? The whole time they’d been working for the DPW?
Cody twisted and pulled his wrists, frantically trying to get free. The muscles up and down both arms cramped and shook, but he fought through the pain. He heard a scratching sound from the shadows, like the world’s most terrifying cat asking to be let out.
The duct tape peeled hair and most likely a layer or two of skin from his wrists. It was now a long and twisted line, sticky and tangled. Cody drew in a breath that hissed between his teeth as the tape continued to pull away hair and abrade his skin. His bindings felt looser, and it encouraged him to amp up his efforts. He thought back to football practice under a hot sun, Coach Burnett shouting at them to keep going, push through the pain, give him maximum effort.
When the duct tape finally unspooled enough for him to pull his arms farther apart, Cody shouted in happy surprise. His shoulder muscle tensed as he yanked his arm back several times, desperate to break the tape once and for all. But it was stubborn and only yielded so far. Still, he was able to pull his arm up from behind him and rest his hand on his hip.
“I’m almost there,” Cody said between breaths.
“You’re too late,” Tracey said quietly.
Cody raised his head and squinted into the darkest corner. His heart hammered even faster and his stomach tightened in fear as a figure materialized from the shadows. It was terrifying. Tall, even taller than his own six feet five inches, and unnaturally pale with a short, upturned nose, long pointed ears, and glowing red eyes. It looked like a gigantic bat stalking toward them on powerful legs. Large wings stretched out to either side, small claws clutching and releasing at a joint in the middle of each. It was naked and sexless, skin smooth and pale, all sinewy limbs with large hands and feet. Its long, knobby fingers were tipped with sharp claws.
“Jesus Christ,” Tracey whispered.
“I may have met him,” the thing said, flashing a smile that revealed rows of sharp teeth. Two fangs extended down on either side of the thin-lipped mouth, ending in wicked points. “Hard to keep all my acquaintances straight after so much time.” He swept his red-eyed gaze across them all. “I am Xavier. Welcome to my home.”
“You stay away from us,” Lucia said. “I am a deputy with the sheriff’s department. Release us now, and this can all be handled peacefully.”
Xavier tipped back his awful head and laughed, placing one big hand over his chest. From the shadows behind the monster, Aldrik slowly approached. He looked at each of them, licking his lips as his eyes burned like dying embers.
“She says this can all be handled peacefully.” Xavier peered down at Aldrik. “Because she’s a deputy.”
“Think she tastes like a deputy?” Aldrik asked.
“Are you hungry?”
“Starved.”
“Then by all means, let’s eat.”
Aldrik moved faster than Cody could track. Lucia cried out, and Cody lifted his head to see Aldrik bent over beside her, his mouth fastened on her throat.
“No!” Cody shouted. “Get the fuck away from her!”
He struggled harder now, yanking and pulling, kicking his feet, trying desperately to free himself.
“You’re a fighter,” Xavier said, moving up in front of Cody. He easily righted his chair and crouched down in front of him, lips spreading into a nightmarish smile that promised pain and death. “You tasted strong and full when I sampled you last night. I do enjoy good leftovers.”
“Stay the fuck away from?—”
Cody gasped as Xavier bent his head back and to the side, exposing his neck. The monster put his cold lips against Cody’s skin, making him shudder. Closing his eyes, Cody waited for pain of the bite, but it didn’t come. Tears streamed down his cheeks, and his whole body trembled. This was it. This would be the third bite, the one that would end his life and turn him into a vampire.
“Did you…?”
Xavier pulled away and released him. Cody lowered his head and drew in a shuddering breath. He had been close to losing the life he often complained about but quietly treasured. And if he was bitten once more, would he be able to see Demmy ever again? Touch him, love him? If he was turned, would he recall any of what Demmy meant to him? If he saw him again, would he attack and kill him?
Cody blinked and fought to keep his racing thoughts from getting too far off track. He needed to be present and in the moment in order to find a way out of this. Xavier stared down at him. Cody held his breath. Was he dragging this out like a cat playing with a mouse? Would he just suddenly swoop in and bite him like Aldrik had done the night before?
Xavier turned his head away slowly, and Cody followed his gaze to where Aldrik still had his mouth on Lucia’s neck. Her head was back, eyes closed and mouth open, skin pale and drawn. Now that he was more tuned into his surroundings, Cody could hear Tracey and Zenona shouting.
“Get off her!” Tracey said.
“You’re killing her!” Zenona shouted.
Cody was about to add his voice to the mix when Xavier moved. His movements were frighteningly fast and smooth as he stepped over and grabbed Aldrik by the arm, pulling him off Lucia. She rocked forward as his teeth caught in her neck, then her chin sagged to her chest when she was finally released.
“Don’t drain her,” Xavier said. He held on to Aldrik’s arm, looking like a nightmare version of a parent scolding a child. “I’ve told you, we need them alive for now.”
“Release me.” Aldrik scowled and attempted to pull free. But Xavier held him tight, long fingers wrapped around his upper arm.
“Did you drink from him?” Xavier pointed at Cody.
Aldrik glared. “No.”
In a flash, Cody saw his opportunity. “Yes, you did,” he said. “Last night, just before you left to confront Michael. You turned around and bit me without any warning.” He looked at Xavier. “He’s lying to you.”
“I am not!” Aldrik turned his red eyes on Cody. “He’s the liar. Look at him, sitting there lying. They all lie. You taught us that!”
“I could smell you on him,” Xavier said, his voice low and dangerous. “I could tell you’d bitten him. And you know I don’t like to share.”
“It must have been one of the others,” Aldrik said, waving a hand toward the shadows, where Cody could now see figures lingering, as if waiting to be called forth. “One of these idiots in town that I turned.”
“You have a very distinct scent,” Xavier said. “I should know, because I turned you.”
“You turned me.” Aldrik sneered and finally yanked his arm free. “Yes, yes, the almighty Father, the oldest vampire in all creation. You’re so all powerful. But you don’t know what I’ve been doing while you’ve been flying around town like some goddamn tourist, scooping up people for a nibble and a scare.”
Xavier’s wings moved back a bit, and Cody thought he might be preparing himself to attack. This could get interesting fast.
“Aldrik’s bitten each of us,” Cody said. “While you’ve not been around.”
“Liar!”
Aldrik launched himself at Cody, eyes blazing, hands reaching, mouth open to expose those terrible fangs. Cody flinched and started to turn away, but Xavier was faster than his child. He snagged the collar of Aldrik’s shirt with his left hand and hauled him back.
“You will follow my direction,” Xavier said.
“The time for your direction is over.”
With a terrifyingly fast move, Aldrik brought his hand down on the arm that restrained him. The snap of bone was like a gunshot, making Cody jump. Xavier’s arm dropped, and he raised his face to the ceiling as he let loose an ear-splitting shriek.
“It’s time for the son to take over his father’s mantle,” Aldrik said, then he rushed at Xavier.
But Xavier wasn’t about to lie down and die. The two came together in a blur of motion, followed by a wet and terrible cracking sound. The fast motion stopped, and Cody was able to see them once again. When he could make sense of what he saw, he jerked his head back in shock.
Xavier had driven his uninjured arm through Aldrik’s chest and out his back. The hand which had exited Aldrik’s back clutched a slick, black lump. It took a few moments for Cody to realize it was Aldrik’s heart.
“You left me no choice,” Xavier said, then he bit into Aldrik’s neck and tore his head from his shoulders.
Zenona and Tracey were screaming, and Cody shouted in shock and disgust as well. Aldrik’s body appeared to pull in on itself, shrinking around Xavier’s arm and dissolving into a foul-smelling black fluid that spread across the floor. Cody, Zenona, and Tracey all lifted their feet to try and avoid the stuff that flowed around them. Lucia was still unconscious after Aldrik’s bite, and the blood spread around her feet.
Aldrik’s body spilled away, and Xavier stood very still, looking at his extended arm coated in the gunk that had once been his son. Eventually, he lowered his arm and stood with his head down. There was no deep breath, no cry of grief. Just a long silence. After a time, the other vampires began to fidget, and the sounds of their shuffling feet and quiet murmurs seemed to bring Xavier back to himself. He looked toward the group lingering in the shadows, their faces indistinct from where Cody was positioned.
“Some of you had been turned by Aldrik, and I know his…” Xavier paused to glance at the mess on the floor. “Demise may be shocking. You would naturally feel his death quite powerfully, as if you yourselves had been struck or impaled. But allow me to assure you, you are all still physically intact. There has been no damage to your corporeal selves. You may be feeling lost, floundering, directionless. That is to be expected, as the bond between a maker and those he sires is immensely intimate and strong. But fear not, for now your allegiance shall pass to me. I shall act as guardian and guide for you.”
“Like you did for your son?”
Cody was surprised to hear Lucia’s voice. Her mouth was a tight line of anger, and her eyes were like chips of hard blue ice, the skin beneath bruised, almost black against her extremely pale face. Aldrik’s bite had taken a heavy toll. But goddamn, if Lucia’s fire just refused to go out. He couldn’t help but be impressed by her. And emboldened.
“Yeah, that was a pretty fucking brutal father and son chat,” Cody said.
“It wasn’t that bad,” Tracey put in. Her voice shook slightly, but she stuck out her chin and stared at Xavier. “At the library, we do worse for late book returns.”
“I have to say, out of your two sons, he really was the worst,” Zenona added.
Xavier stood in front of her. “Do not mention my other son here. He is dead to me.”
“So, would that be living?” Cody asked. “Since he’s technically undead now, if he were to be dead to you, would that make him alive again?”
The vampires in the shadows, who Cody had come to think of as a gruesome Greek chorus, whispered quietly. He heard them shifting positions, clothes rustling, shoes scraping against the concrete.
Xavier slowly turned his head to look at him. He smiled, the movement making his already frightening features even more terrifying.
“Would you like to find out?”
The deadbolt at the top of the stairs opened with a click that echoed across the space. The hard, sudden sound made Cody jump, and everyone looked up to the door swinging open. A rush of hope filled Cody’s chest that Demmy would be peering down the stairs. This was followed quickly by the fear that Demmy would be overrun by vampires.
But it wasn’t Demmy or anyone else come to save them. It was John the Bastard, lumbering down the metal steps, his boots clanging against the risers.
“Ah, Mr. Burnwell,” Xavier said. “Timely, as usual.”
“You fucking traitor,” Cody shouted. “Let us out of here!”
John stopped at the bottom of the steps. He avoided looking at any of the captives, instead fixing his gaze on Xavier. “Sun’s down.”
“Yes, we felt that,” Xavier said. “How fares your wife?”
That got John to glance quickly at Cody before looking back at Xavier. “She’s about the same.”
“Oh, dear, I’m so sorry. I thought for sure that specialist you brought in would have been able to help.” Xavier took a step closer and lowered his voice. “Would you like me to pay the specialist a visit tonight?”
John’s face paled. “No!” It was practically a shout, and he caught himself and cleared his throat, saying more quietly, “No, that’s not necessary.”
“You’ve done so much for us all these months,” Xavier said. “Ever since our initial introduction. Surely there’s something more I can do to repay your kindness? I shall pay for another specialist to be brought in. The cost is of no concern.”
“You fucking bastard!” Tracey shouted. “Do you know what this monster has done to the people of your town?”
John flinched and dropped his gaze. He responded to Xavier as if Tracey had never spoken. “More money would help. Her care is expensive.”
“Of course, of course,” Xavier said. “Whatever you need, just tell me. I will, of course, need some help with these four later tonight. Do you know a good place we can bury their bodies so they’ll never be found?”
“The pit.” John’s voice was soft, but Cody heard him clearly enough for his stomach to knot and a greasy sheen to break out over his body. “We can bury them out there.”
He shuddered at the thought of it. John was suggesting Xavier dump their bodies in among the roadkill in the pit on the edge of town. Then John the Bastard would use the backhoe to push dirt over them and there they’d stay forever, rotting away with the roadkill and undiscovered.
“You fucking bastard,” Cody said. “This is murder. You’re murdering people all over town! Does your wife know how you’re funding her care?”
John’s expression tightened with rage. He took a single step toward Cody, fists clenched, but stopped himself. His face was red as he turned away and trod up the stairs, boots loud against the metal. Xavier leaned down so his terrible face was inches from Cody’s and smiled.
“I think I’ll pay a visit to your husband first. You stole his heart all those years ago, would you like me to bring it to you?”
Cody leaned in close and snapped his teeth at Xavier, feeling a small rush of satisfaction when the vampire pulled back slightly. “You’d better think twice before you take him on.”
“Oh, Mr. Bower, but where’s the fun in that?” Xavier straightened and turned to the group of vampires behind him. “Come, my children. Let us go out and celebrate Halloween with all the tourists and drink our fill.”
Excited shrieks and screams echoed around the cinderblock walls as Xavier led the way up the stairs and out through the door. The most terrifying parade of all time.
“You fucking bastard!” Lucia shouted after them.
The door swung shut with a loud bang, and Cody heard the key secure the deadbolt. He tugged and pulled at the loosened tape around his wrists, gritting his teeth so hard they ached. He had to get free and get to Demmy. He was not going to lose him, not again.